AI for dental imaging: impressive in vitro, but what about in practice?

Thomas Evans ^1,2, Henry David Jeffry Hogg ^3,4

⁰AI and Digital Health Team, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Thomas.Evans13@nhs.net.

Evidence-Based Dentistry +

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December 4, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Artificial intelligence (AI) demonstrates superior performance in in-vitro dental imaging tasks like caries detection and 3D model creation compared to existing standards. Further clinical studies are needed to validate these promising laboratory findings for real-world dental applications.

Area Of Science

Dentistry
Medical Imaging
Artificial Intelligence

Background

Dental imaging is crucial for diagnosis and treatment planning.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers potential advancements in image analysis.
In-vitro studies provide a controlled environment to assess AI performance.

Purpose Of The Study

To systematically review and meta-analyze in-vitro studies on AI applications in dental imaging.
To evaluate the performance of AI techniques in various dental imaging tasks.
To synthesize evidence on AI's effectiveness in improving dental image analysis.

Main Methods

Systematic review of multiple databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore) and hand-searching.
Inclusion criteria: in-vitro studies, AI techniques, dental imaging analysis.
Data analysis included bias assessment (CONSORT tool) and meta-analysis (fixed-effects model) of accuracy metrics.

Main Results

Nine in-vitro studies were included, with eight focusing on Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT).
AI applications covered caries detection, image segmentation, and virtual 3D model creation.
Meta-analysis revealed AI performance superior to reference standards in pooled analysis.

Conclusions

AI shows significant potential to enhance the speed and quality of dental imaging tasks in laboratory settings.
The findings suggest AI could revolutionize dental diagnostics and treatment planning.
Clinical validation is essential to translate these in-vitro AI advancements into practical clinical benefits.